Y'all Come Over: A Celebration of Southern Hospitality, Food, and Memories

By Patsy Caldwell and Amy Lyles Wilson

Discover some of the best Southern recipes for entertaining guests, whether it’s a special occasion for two or a seasonal gathering for twenty-two.

There are major milestones that demand the fine china and fresh flowers but in the South, no special occasion is needed to throw open the front door, set up a buffet line down the kitchen counter, and welcome your dearest loved ones over for the sort of meal they won’t soon forget.

Join Patsy Caldwell and Amy Lyles Wilson as they once again take us to Luckettville to meet the talented downhome hostesses who’ve said, “Y’all come over” a time or two in their day.

You’ll get the perfect menu suggestions for just about every occasion a Southern entertainer might encounter—soups to ladle up during the big game, savory meats to toss on the grill for summer picnics, and sweets to regale the crowd with during the last six weeks of the year.

In Y’all Come Over, some of the tasty recipes you’ll discover include:

• Iron Skillet Roasted Chicken with White Beans and Tomatoes 
• Blackberry Lemonade 
• Cherry Cobbler Cupcakes 
• Good Neighbor Chicken Fiesta Soup

Get inspired to make your kitchen a place where friends and family will look forward to landing. All that’s left to do is say it—“Y’all come over!”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781401604851

Patsy Caldwell

Patsy Caldwell has been a culinary professional for more than fifty years in a career that has included teaching, catering, cooking, and writing. She is a mother of two and grandmother of two. She lives in Charlotte, Tennessee, next to the water tower with her husband Bill, where they enjoy entertaining anywhere from two to twenty-two people, depending on the occasion.

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Contents

Introduction

CHAPTER 1: Family Fireworks

Blackberry Lemonade

Fruit Cocktail Punch

Corn and Roasted Peanut Salad

Hush Puppies

Southern Fried Dill Pickles

Fire and Ice Tomatoes

Cheddar Bacon Hot Water Cornbread

Three-Bean Baked Beans

TCB Slaw

Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad

Fried Catfish

Smoked Pork Baby Back Ribs

Barbecue Chicken with Bacon and Cheese Topping

Good Granny Smith Apple Sheet Pie

Summer Peach Cheesecake Ice Cream

CHAPTER 2: A House Divided

Fall Flavor Fruit Tea

Potato, Ham, and Cheese Appetizer

Deep-Fried, Deep-South Sweet Potato Chips

Soup Beans

Armchair Quarterback Pork Tenderloin and Pinto Bean Soup

Good Neighbor Chicken Fiesta Soup

Bacon-Wrapped Barbecued Shrimp

Muffulettas

Blackened Bologna Sandwich

Creole Seasoning

Sautéed Sliced Beef Tenderloin

Popcorn Balls

Rhubarb Cake with Coconut Pecan Topping

Orange Slice Cake

Toasted Coconut Pie with Macadamia Coconut Crust

Touchdown Brownies

CHAPTER 3: After the Ball

Hot to Fox Trot Chocolate

All-Purpose Biscuit Mix

Sour Cream Coconut Biscuits

Apple Walnut Cheese Biscuits

Linda’s Chocolate Friendship Bread

Brown Sugar Bacon with Pecans

Ham and Cheese Oven Omelet

Puffed Up and Proud French Toast

Red Velvet Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese

Fresh Fruit Salad with Orange Dressing

Scrambled Egg Breakfast Cups

Cherry Cobbler Cupcakes

Fried Country Ham with Redeye Gravy

CHAPTER 4: Dinner for Two . . . Me and You

Shrimp Salad

Y’all Cumin Roasted Carrots

Fresh Strawberry Soup

Two-Potato Scalloped for 2

Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon and Jalapeño Peppers

Roasted Asparagus with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Cheese

Barbecued Lamb Chops

Bacon-Wrapped Filet

Ham and Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops

Deep-Fried Flounder with Pimento Cheese Grits

Pimento Cheese Grits

Cherry Shortcake

Isn’t It Romantic Baked Chocolate Pudding

CHAPTER 5: Dinner with the Preacher

Southern Spoon Bread

Green Beans with Bacon and Tomatoes

Orange Strawberry Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

Green Chili and Corn Casserole

Sunday Carrots

Fried Green Tomatoes with Fresh Tomato Salsa

Macaroni and Cheese and Shrimp

Chicken and Peach Pecan Dressing

Country-Style Pot Roast with Sour Cream Gravy

Vegetable Soup Meat Loaf

Apple Pie Sweetened with Sugar Substitute

Carole’s Take Some Home with You Spice Bars

Cherry Cobbler

CHAPTER 6: All Politics Are Local

Chocolate Punch

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

Charleston Buttermilk Corn Sticks with Bacon Tomato Jam

Bacon Tomato Jam

It Makes Two Fruit and Nut Bread with Pineapple Nut Spread

Pineapple Nut Spread

Cheesy Black-Eyed Pea Dip

Marinated Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Chicken Macadamia Platter with Honey Mustard Dip

Honey Mustard Dip

Chili Creole Shrimp

Caramel Chocolate Chews

Peanut Butter–Filled Cookies

Balanced Budget Cracker Candy

Praline Bundt Cake

Coconut Cream Cheesecake

CHAPTER 7: Lending a Helping Hand

Apple Lemonade

Pineapple Grape Salad

Old-Fashioned Southern Fried Okra

Don’t Tell Beer Rolls

Swiss Potato Casserole

Hominy Salad

Iron Skillet Roasted Chicken with White Beans and Tomatoes

Mac and Cheese Soup with Ham

Preacher Fried Chicken and Gravy

Salmon Croquettes

Oak Hill Fried Pies

Cinnamon-Butter Filling

Chocolate Filling

Strawberry Pizza

Summer Snowballs

Butterscotch Sauce

Chocolate Sauce

CHAPTER 8: Cooking from the Garden

Pea-Pickin’ Black-Eyed Pea Corn Muffins

Vegetable Beef Soup

Watermelon Salad with Feta and Toasted Pecans

Cheese Soup with Squash and Tomatoes

Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Soup

Asparagus with Cashew Butter

Cabbage Casserole

Corn Pudding Crème Brulee

Squash Tarts

Cheese and Corn Stuffed Tomatoes

Vegetable Corn Salad

Summer Tomato Sandwich

Green Beans with Cucumber and Onion Topping

Roasted Red Onions

Parsley Red Potatoes

Slaw with Walnuts and Cranberries

Eggplant Pie

Raspberry Crumble

Sweet Tea Pie

CHAPTER 9: Cooking with Honey

Pimento Cheese Soup with Mayonnaise Cheese Toast

Mayonnaise Cheese Toast

Frozen Apricot Fruit Salad

Candy Apple Salad

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Pecans

Cauliflower and Broccoli Wreath

Baked Orange Cups with Pineapple and Apples

Alice’s Green Bean Roll-Ups

Blackberry Barbecued Chicken with Jalapeño Corn Fritters

Blackberry Barbecue Sauce

Jalapeño Corn Fritters

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

Bryan’s Osso Bucco

Grilled Sweet-Tea Brined Pork Chops with Peach Salsa

Peach Salsa

Chicken Pot Pie with Sweet Potato Crust

Caramel Nut Pound Cake with Brown Butter Pecan Icing

Watertower Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

Cherry Cheesecake Bars

CHAPTER 10: Making Memories

Lemon Drop Tea

Grits Cornbread

Pecan Rice

English Pea Casserole

Sweet Potato Relish

Vegetable Mashed Potatoes

Pistachio Pork Tenderloin with Cream Sauce

Cola Baked Country Ham with Cherry Cola Glaze

Whole Smoked Turkey

Mushroom Bacon Casserole

Blackberry Wine Cake

Caramel Candy

Peachy Cheesies

Creamy Pecan Pie

Sweet Potato Cobbler

CHAPTER 11: Surprise, Surprise

Pineapple Tea Punch

Spicy Pretzels

Pimento Cheese Corn Muffins with Turkey

Hot Pecan Spread with Lemon Pepper Crackers

Pepperoni Dip

Vegetable Spread

Cornmeal Cups with Black Bean Corn Salsa

Black Bean Corn Salsa

Crab Dip with Artichokes

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Baked Tomato, Bacon, and Cheese Dip

Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Mayonnaise

Butterfinger Dip

Banana Split Ice Cream

Cranberry Snow Candy

Coconut Black Walnut Cake

CHAPTER 12: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Sour Cream Crescent Rolls

Strawberry Peanut Brittle Salad

Accordion-Cut Roasted Potato

Baked Pineapple with Pears

Ground Beef Stew with Black-Eyed Peas

Southwest Macaroni and Cheese

Creamed Chipped Beef

Honey Brined Southern Fried Chicken

Chocolate Banana Pudding

Butter Roll Dessert

German Chocolate Chess Pie

White Chocolate Pie

Acknowledgments

Index

7/11/13 9:55 AM

Introduction

In the South, it seems there is no shortage of reasons for throwing open your doors and inviting friends and family over for a bite to eat. There are the obvious ones, of course, like weddings and graduations, which deserve a big to-do and maybe even the good silver. Then there are the more common occurrences, like birthdays and promotions, for which the everyday china will do just fine. And then there are those times when you don’t need an excuse at all, and you might even use paper plates. You simply say, Y’all come over, and they do.

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When my piano teacher, Mrs. Collins, decided it was time for me to have a recital all on my own, my mother responded by promptly inviting just about anybody she could wrangle to witness the spectacle.

Y’all come over, she surely said. Those piano lessons are really paying off.

She made pickup food and punch, and we set up some folding chairs in the front room so everyone could have an unobstructed view of the piano. She even put out a little glass of water for me in the kitchen. After each song I would stand up, try my best to smooth down the Sunday school dress she’d put me in, the one with the scratchy lining (which I remember as crinoline, but now realize was probably something else), and go take a sip of water, offstage as it were, like I was some sort of opera diva. I would then return to the piano bench and pound out another round of London Bridge or Für Elise. Everyone applauded when they were supposed to, and I survived to tell the tale. It was an early lesson for me in the art of hospitality, that ability to take an otherwise mundane occurrence and turn it into a festive occasion.

The bigger milestones, like a wedding or an anniversary, might call for something a little more high falutin’, like Please join us, or The favor of a reply is requested. But most times a simple Y’all come over is all that’s needed.

In the end, you don’t have to justify inviting the neighbors over for dinner. A theme isn’t necessary for an impromptu party. Having your girlfriends to lunch doesn’t require a reason. And goodness knows your family will be glad for any excuse—or none at all—to savor your home-cooked best.

As we did in Bless Your Heart and You Be Sweet, Patsy Caldwell and I wanted to combine down-home recipes with heartfelt stories in an appetizing and accessible collection that you can return to again and again. We hope this book will inspire you to gather your friends and family to celebrate the major milestones in your lives. But we also hope you’ll consider saying Y’all come over for no other reason than to share your home, and your heart, with those you love.

—AMY LYLES WILSON

CHAPTER 1

Family Fireworks

Any way you look at it, last year’s Fourth of July cookout was a disaster for the Muller family; at least that’s how Irma sees it. Even if you rejoice in the fact that little Isabella’s recovery from the bee stings—who knew she was allergic?—was rapid and complete, you couldn’t deny that the entire affair was a fiasco. Even if you’re grateful, and Irma is, that there was only minor damage to Junior’s brand-new all-terrain vehicle when the tree fell on it during the thunderstorm, you couldn’t ignore the reality that not one member of the Muller family left with a smile on his or her face. And the food? Please don’t get Irma started.

She won’t say another word about how if she’d been in charge instead of Cousin Mary Jean, none of the unfortunate incidents—did Irma mention the forks that cracked in two every time you tried to spear a baked bean?—would have occurred, but that’s the honest truth. Mary Jean didn’t even spring for the good plasticware, that’s how cheap she is. (Did Irma just say that out loud?)

Now that Irma’s in charge of this year’s event, she’s moving the celebration from the state park to her backyard. The park wasn’t worth it, not after they lost Big Irma last year, only to find her in the restroom waiting patiently for someone to bring her a handful of toilet paper. Add to that the fact that they weren’t allowed to shoot fireworks on county property, and nobody had been happy. Never again, says Irma.

Thankfully, she’s always been hyper-organized, a trait that comes in handy at a time like this, even if her fine attention to detail does occasionally get on her loved ones’ nerves. She’s ordered two tents in case of rain, and there are five boxes of bottled water in the carport for those who can’t take the heat. She’s hired Boffo the Clown to put in an appearance for the kids, and she’s invited the volunteer firefighters in case Uncle Fred gets a little out of control with the Roman candles; they’re his favorites. Irma’s place is just beyond the county line, but you can’t be too sure. Fred means well; he’s just trying to be festive. But now that he refuses to wear his hearing aids, the chances of reining him in are greatly diminished. Irma decides she’d better bake an extra apple sheet cake for the fire chief in case she has to do some sweet-talking.

Irma knows that even with her uncanny ability to anticipate almost any potential outcome, there are some things she can’t control. Even if you pay your taxes in full, love your neighbor as yourself, and limit your swearing to two curse words a week, sometimes bad things do happen to good people.

Even God blinks, Irma says, so you might as well be prepared.

The risk of Irma’s mother showing up in that red, white, and blue sequined T-shirt, the one that emphasizes Big Irma’s ample bosom, is another thing Irma will have to let go of.

It’s one of the few pleasures I have left, responds her mother whenever Irma tries to talk to her about her loud clothing choices. Irma would use the word tacky instead of loud, but she doesn’t want to hurt her mother’s feelings.

I’m an old woman, says Big Irma, her dangling daisy earrings, the ones she bought in Branson, swinging back and forth. I’ve earned the right to dress as I please.

So Irma realizes she can’t rein in Fred’s penchant for pyrotechnics or tone down Big Irma’s tendency to dress inappropriately for her age. But the food—the food Irma can control. She’ll make her barbecue peanuts, which the guys couldn’t get enough of down at the Rotary back when Dave was alive. She’ll ask Cousin Charlotte to bring her corn and roasted peanut salad, which might sound a little strange but tastes fabulous. Once, they caught Charlotte’s husband eating it straight from the serving bowl when he thought no one was looking. That’s how good it is. Of course, there will be plenty of meat: barbecue chicken and smoked pork baby back ribs. She’ll throw in some bacon cheddar deviled eggs, because they’re her boyfriend Hal’s favorite. Imagine, caring what a man thinks at her age!

After Dave died, and after dodging romantic overtures from several members of the grief group at All Souls Chapel, Irma had just about given up on love. But in walked Hal one day while Irma was arranging a horseshoe-shaped spray of carnations down at the Bouquet Boutique where she works two afternoons a week and one Saturday a month. Why Sylvia Hinkle wanted such a garish display on her recently departed husband’s final resting place is beyond Irma, but it is not her station to judge. Something to do with all those years of his playing the ponies, perhaps. Irma liked to have fallen for Hal right on the spot, seeing as how he was buying lilies of the valley, his mother’s favorite, to take to her out at Happy Trails Retirement Village. You know what they say about a man who is good to his mother.

Just to be double-dog sure that everyone will enjoy the cookout, Aunt Edith is going to mix up some fruit cocktail punch. It makes you think you’re getting a little buzz, without the hooch. Perfect for such a God-fearing yet fun-loving family as the Mullers. Edith got the idea for the punch after a holiday party with the Uptowners, her bridge club, where Virginia Tarver served her secret recipe rum punch. Several of the ladies thought they were tipsy, but it turns out there’s no rum in the punch; hence the secret. Oh, did they have a good laugh when they found out.

With a little luck, a fun time will be had by all this Fourth of July. And with Irma in charge, the Mullers’ chances are pretty good.

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Blackberry Lemonade

Blackberry picking in the South has got to be one of the hottest and hardest activities there is. But this drink is so delicious it makes up for it.

8 cups water, divided

1 cup sugar

2 cups blackberries

1 cup lemon juice

Fresh mint for garnish

Place 2 cups of water and the sugar in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Cool. In the bowl of a blender puree the blackberries mixed with the cooled sugar water until smooth.